Chief among her revelations is that getting published won’t make you rich. Even if you have a sizable following, you can’t realistically expect more than a low five-figure advance. If you have an agent, which is pretty much required to be taken seriously by a publisher, he’ll be taking 15 percent of that paycheck. Depending on how long it takes you to write, you could be working for less than minimum wage even if you are lucky enough to find a publisher.

Jenny says her book, which took her two and a half years to write and promote, has made her pennies per hour, but has somewhat paid off by fulfilling a dream while lending her credibility and helping her get other business ventures off the ground. Viewing such a project as a means to an end rather than an end itself is probably the healthiest way toward pursuing a side career as an author.